Melissa Jackson, M.F.A.

Lecturer, English Composition
Department of General Education University College

678-839-2300
mjackson@westga.e5Udu

Newnan Center Building 1000 - Room 103
Office Hours
OFFICE HOURS
Monday/Wednesday: In the Writing Center from 10-11:30, Office 10:30-2
10:15-12:15 Tuesday/Thursday 9-11

Download curriculum vitae for Melissa Jackson, M.F.A. in PDF
Melissa Jackson, M.F.A.
Biography

Melissa Dickson Jackson teaches writing and American Literature. She also writes feature articles and participates in cultural and community events. Her work has appeared in Thrive Magazine for the Coweta Chamber of Commerce, Newnan Coweta Magazine, and Lifestyles magazine. She has published two collections of poetry, Cameo (2011) and Sweet Aegis, Medusa Poems (2013). Her poems can be found in Bitter Southerner, Shenandoah, North American Review, Southern Humanities Review, Cumberland River Review, Southern Women's Review, Literary Mama, and Gravy from the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi. She served as the associate editor of Stone, River, Sky: An Anthology of Georgia Poems released by Negative Capability Press in 2015. The University of Georgia Press collection Vinegar and Char (2018) includes her work. Melissa lives in Newnan with her husband, four children, two cats, a beta fish, and a leopard gecko named Beans. 

Education / Degrees
  • B.F.A., Fine Arts, Painting, Auburn University, 1992
  • M.F.A., Studio Arts, School of Visual Arts, 1995
  • M.F.A., Creative and Professional Writing, Converse College, 2012
Courses Taught
Course Sections and Syllabi

Fall 2025 Sections

Summer 2025 Sections

Spring 2025 Sections

Fall 2024 Sections

Summer 2024 Sections

Spring 2024 Sections

Fall 2023 Sections

Spring 2023 Sections

Fall 2022 Sections

Summer 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections

Publication List

The Immortal Memory Address January 30, 2016 [View Publication External Resource]

Ghost Tales p 27 [View Publication External Resource]

Mayhayley the Mercurial [View Publication External Resource]

Stone, River, Sky: An Anthology of Georgia Poetry [View Publication External Resource]

Bitter Southerner (poem) [View Publication External Resource]

Shenandoah (Two Poems) [View Publication External Resource]

Collection of Poems from New Plains Press [View Publication External Resource]

Collection of Poems from Negative Capability Press [View Publication External Resource]

Cumberland River Review [View Publication External Resource]

Gravy, The Journal of the Southern Foodways Alliance [View Publication External Resource]

Newnan/Coweta Magazine Page 32 [View Publication External Resource]

North American Review Blog [View Publication External Resource]

Skills and Resources

Public Speaking

I'm a skilled public speaker with experience on a variety of topics. I've addressed local civic groups and organizations on topics including The History of the Pulitzer Prize, Mayhayley Lancaster (notorious regional fortune teller), Robert Burns, and the creative overlap of the visual and literary arts. I'm also a trained and skilled performer of literature and poetry. I've appeared on the Weather Channel, in the documentary Legend of an Oracle, and at various venues in the Southeast including Auburn University's June Collins Smith Museum, Avid Bookshop in Athens, The New South Bookstore in Montgomery, and local events including the annual Oakhill Cemetery Tour, Kiwanis and Rotary Meetings, LitMu Meetings, and the Newnan Carnegie Library.